Making Indian sweets at home is as much of a need as regular food when you've been out of India for several years. I always miss the foods that made the smallest occasions extra special and all forms of mithai come in this category. With my newfound confidence in preparing Indian sweets at home, I ventured to make Milk Cake this year for Karwa Chauth to be eaten as sargi in the morning (the meal before day breaks) and to be enjoyed after the day of fasting has ended with the sighting of the moon.

There are several recipes out there which will demonstrate how milk cake can be made at home and after hunting the internet incessantly, I found this recipe by Manjula. She even has a video which explains the making process and is a must watch to understand how to get the milk cake the right consistency and texture. I will definitely recommend anyone who attempts to make this recipe to see the video atleast once. Thanks Manjula for a wonderful and easy recipe!

The recipe is quite easy indeed and only needs a handful of ingredients and the end result is absolutely delicious. If you're living out of India, it beats anything that you can get in any sweets shop and hence a must try. The most important things to take care while preparing this are - using a heavy base non stick pan and removing about 2 cups of the whey water. I did not have any pistachios at home so I just ended up sprinkling some cardamom powder on the finished milk cakes and it was just as wonderful.

Ingredients:

6 cups whole milk

2-3 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed/ground cardamom

2 tablespoons ghee/unsalted butter.

1 tablespoon sliced pistachios for garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Grease a 6-inch plate and set aside.

2. In a large, wide and heavy saucepan bring the milk to a boil over medium high heat. And let it boil for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add lemon juice to the milk, it will begin to curdle. Use minimum amount of lemon juice to just start the curdling process and prevent the whey (milky water) from completely separating immediately. Boil for 5 minutes and remove approx. 1 ½ cups of the whey. This will help reduce the tartness from the cake.

4. Continue to cook and stir occasionally until the milk is a grainy consistency and the whey is evaporated. This will take an additional 15-20 minutes.

5. Add sugar and cardamom and keep stirring until the mixture starts coming together. This should take approximately 5 minutes. Lower the heat to medium and cook for another 4-5 minutes until mixture changes to a slightly golden brown color.

6. Transfer mixture to the greased plate and press firmly into a square shape, approximately 1 inch high. As an option, sprinkle sliced pistachios on top. Let sit for at least an hour before slicing into individual pieces.